Reel World

History in black and white

The South Broadway Cultural Center will be unveiling its brand new, state-of-the-art digital projection and sound system with a free public movie screening on Thursday, Feb. 27. The City of Albuquerque’s Cultural Services Department is joining up with The Museum of the American Military Family to show the award-winning documentary Brown Babies (Mischlingskinder). This film tells the story of children born to American service members and German women during the postwar occupation of Europe. Among the thousands of pregnancies, the most visible group of children were the offspring of German women and African-American soldiers. Brown Babies explores the lives of these kids, who found themselves caught between German and US culture. Two of these children, Daniel Cardwell and Peter Grammer, will be on hand to share experiences of their early days in Germany and their lives after coming to America. This special screening is part of a celebration of Black History Month. Tickets are free, but seating is limited. The event starts at 7pm. The South Broadway Cultural Center is located at 1025 Broadway SE.

The music of change

On Thursday, Feb. 27, the National Hispanic Cultural Center will present a brand new documentary titled Lalo Guerrero: The Original Chicano. This doc covers 70 years of Mexican American history, “captured in a dazzling array of musical genres by late Chicano icon Lalo Guerrero.” The noted guitarist, singer and farm labor activist tells his own story with a little help from fans, friends and contemporaries like Ry Cooder, Dolores Huerta, Cheech Marin, Edward James Olmos and Luis Valdez. The film will be introduced by writer and producer Dan Guerrero, who just happens to be the son of Lalo Guerrero. The screening will start at 7pm in the NHCC’s Bank of America Theatre (1701 Fourth Street SW). Tickets are free, but seating is limited. Passes will be handed out starting one hour before the event.

505 films

The third annual New Mexico Film Festival hits the UNM Valencia Campus in Tome-Los Lunas on Thursday, Feb. 27. The film-filled event will take place in the school’s SCC Building screening room (280 La Entrada Road in Los Lunas) and is free to the public. The day-long festival kicks off at 8:30am and continues though 6:30pm. Among the highlights is the New Mexico-made family drama Tiger Eyes (based on the semi-autobiographical book by Judy Blume), which starts at 10:30am. At 5pm it’s the award-winning documentary Tapia (about troubled Albuquerque boxer Johnny Tapia). In between, we get a wide sampling of shorts and features, including the animated fable “Wolf Dog Tales” (featuring the music of local fave Robert Mirabal). For those interested in a deeper look at the state of our state’s film industry, a panel discussion featuring filmmakers, Albuquerque Film Office liaison Ann Lerner, local film historian Jeff Berg and New Mexico Film Foundation founder Dirk Norris starts at 2:30pm. For more information or help with directions, call 925-8600.